Monolithic Cladding Moisture Test – Leaky Building?

Being in the business of testing homes and building for signs of moisture, I really can not stress enough the importance of getting a moisture test (in addition to a building inspection) before going unconditional on a property deal. One of todays inspections further confirms my thoughts…

A young couple called me this morning in a mad rush to get a moisture inspection on a property they have under contract. The lady said it was built in 1996 and has monolithic cladding. Before I continue, it’s important to note that not all monolithic cladding homes are leaky buildings… it’s just the last 3 homes i’ve inspected with this cladding have shown very high non-invasive moisture readings on walls that look immaculate to the human eye. It’s also important to note there are homes that aren’t made of monolithic that are leaky homes.

See this photo here. The moisture reading is well above what we are looking for… and it wasn’t just in this one place, there were readings like this all over the north facing wall of this place!

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what type of cladding your home has, it can still leak if areas such as window joinery or the roof are showing signs fatique.

The couple I did this test for today said “Phew… we were about to put our life savings into that home”

Take your time and go through the motions… and don’t blame anyone else but yourself if you short-cut the logical pre purchase process and get caught out buying a lemon.

NZ website consumerbuild.org has further info about cladding types and risks here